DAK 'Encanto' and 'Indiana Jones'-themed experiences at Animal Kingdom

[Agent H]

It was also supposed to be a boat ride per @marni1971 at one point and now it leans to an omnimover-like system.

I’m very intrigued by the omimover I was sure it was going to a trackless dark ride this could end up being better a (presumably) slow moving omimover would have to have more depth of scenery not that the trackless rides are bad but it’s exciting that end result might be closer to haunted mansion than mystic manor although that would have been awesome too

 

[Disstevefan1]

Goats pooped on my feet at Rafiki's Planet Watch when I was six. It was my first disgruntling experience.

Replace it with Beastly Kingdom.

I was at Rafiki's Planet Watch in 2024, very sad, only a few animals. A shell of its former self.

This is Disney's plan. make an area worse and worse, then replace it.

 

[The Leader of the Club]

I was at Rafiki's Planet Watch in 2024, very sad, only a few animals. A shell of its former self.

This is Disney's plan. make an area worse and worse, then replace it.

I think moving Animation Academy over here gave it a little shot in the arm.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I think moving Animation Academy over here gave it a little shot in the arm.

That's why we went there, always fun. The petting zoo however abysmal.

 

[Agent H]

That's why we went there, always fun. The petting zoo however abysmal.

How can you not like goats?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I’m very intrigued by the omimover I was sure it was going to a trackless dark ride in this could end up being better a (presumably) slow moving omimover would have to have more depth of scenery not that the trackless rides are bad but it’s exciting that end result might be closer to haunted mansion than mystic manor although that would have been awesome too

I think the last rumor out there was an omnimover but not a continuous one - so one that would allow for loading a number of cars and then would leave the station and on a track but then allow for pausing in areas and having the action happen for each car

So think more Journey into Imagination vs Haunted Mansion

 

[Agent H]

I think the last rumor out there was an omnimover but not a continuous one - so one that would allow for loading a number of cars and then would leave the station and on a track but then allow for pausing in areas and having the action happen for each car

So think more Journey into Imagination vs Haunted Mansion

This is very interesting indeed didn’t @wdwmagic say it was going to be an omimover?

 

[Disstevefan1]

How can you not like goats?

I think there was A goat there, its fine

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This is very interesting indeed didn’t @wdwmagic say it was going to be an omimover?

Yeah, it is still under the umbrella of "omnimover" - on a track and control what the guest is looking at ... But just not the continually moving version

 

[marni1971]

It was also supposed to be a boat ride per @marni1971 at one point and now it leans to an omnimover-like system.

Let me check what I last saw. IIRC it’s not Omni as in the HM sense. If I remember I’ll check when home.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

This is very interesting indeed didn’t @wdwmagic say it was going to be an omimover?

They did, though there was a post later on that did say that it wasn't going to be a full-on omnimover and was going to be more like Figment

 

[Agent H]

I think there was A goat there, its fine

Which one?

 

[HauntedPirate]

Which one?

You missed actual GOATs.

Wait... Sorry, I'll refrain from further thread derailment.

 

[Gremlin Gus]

It was also supposed to be a boat ride per @marni1971 at one point and now it leans to an omnimover-like system.

A bit unrelated, but that does make me wonder if the Encanto was originally a boat ride, would it have been a somewhat "retelling" of the movie? Because I'd image it would be hard for the current version of the attraction we have now to be a boat ride seeing as we're going throughout the Casita (unless Pepa cause the weather to rain so hard that it causes a river to flow through the Casita )

 

[Agent H]

I think there was A goat there, its fine

Which one?

I got more

 

[lazyboy97o]

Even if all those things were true, I really don’t see how attraction overlay projects are that exposed. Particularly Indy, the Muppets show replacement and RnRC.

They are largely exposed because they are later phases of a larger project. As you know, most cuts of late that people decry as “budget cuts” aren’t reductions in the actual budget but cuts to keep the project on budget. It’s always easier and cheaper to change something that is still on paper.

Overlays also add some risk because there’s a degree of existing infrastructure that can deliver the minimal viable product. In the extreme you could deliver a Tropical Americas with Dinosaur which already isn’t overly tied to geography. Monstropolis isn’t a super distinct setting, Muppter Theater could go largely untouched and just show the two shorts stitched together. While many may not realize that the rethemed attraction is rethemed, the new attraction is the new thing. That’s the real headliner. I’m not making predictions, just highlighting how much room there is to cut back those aspects while still delivering something.

It’s also not just the tariffs. The US already had a labor shortage and there is an explicit desire to reduce the adult population of the country. This does openly include revoking existing work authorizations, visas and even citizenship. That’s just another factor with a direct connection.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Thanks, I enjoy your posts as well. (and many of Casper's posts too)

If you review his posts he admits that things might be built, but with cuts everywhere. He's definitely on record that Villains Land won't be built. He also thinks that MV3D is being shuttered because of operational costs. There's plenty here that believe that as well.

The fact he's bringing up macro points (tariff's) to support his perspective, makes me think he's rooting for it. If another pandemic happens or we get involved with a World War (God forbid), I could see most of the projects going away too. Macro elements doesn't really make me him right or wrong here IMO.

You keep strawmanning my position and then walking it back. You claim in one post that my pointing out “cuts everywhere” after projects open would be “moving the goalposts” while offhandedly mentioning in the next that I have frequently posted about the likelihood of cuts, which certainly seems to be setting the goalposts pretty firmly right now.

I genuinely have no idea why you believe that trying to account for “macro” developments is “rooting for” projects to fail. Disney’s management team IS about to change. That’s reality. It is likely we are about to experience a period of pronounced national instability. That’s conjecture, but it’s informed by experience, evidence, expertise, and critical thought. Not accounting for such factors is just posting fantasy.

Your posts are very articulate, but they seem to imagine a Disney corporation that thinks and acts and loves the parks like a fan, that puts some value on its promises, and that is somehow removed from not only its own pattern of past actions but also larger economic and social forces. Closing Muppets years early to save operational costs is completely in line with Disney’s past practices. Let me ask you - how long do you feel Muppets NEEDS to be closed to replace the show? What date SHOULD it reopen? I’d point out that the Bugs to Zootopia conversion seems like it will take a little over a year, so should we expect a Muppets replacement by late 2026 or very early 2027?

 

[marni1971]

It was also supposed to be a boat ride per @marni1971 at one point and now it leans to an omnimover-like system.

Let me check what I last saw. IIRC it’s not Omni as in the HM sense. If I remember I’ll check when home.

I’m home. Not an omni but track based. Specifics are sparse but imagine a static load/unload with one or more (or even a group of 4) RVs moving around the attraction, each with 2 rows per vehicle. Separate ADA load. And a betting man might also say 14 distinct show scenes.

 

[mattpeto]

You keep strawmanning my position and then walking it back. You claim in one post that my pointing out “cuts everywhere” after projects open would be “moving the goalposts” while offhandedly mentioning in the next that I have frequently posted about the likelihood of cuts, which certainly seems to be setting the goalposts pretty firmly right now.

I genuinely have no idea why you believe that trying to account for “macro” developments is “rooting for” projects to fail. Disney’s management team IS about to change. That’s reality. It is likely we are about to experience a period of pronounced national instability. That’s conjecture, but it’s informed by experience, evidence, expertise, and critical thought. Not accounting for such factors is just posting fantasy.

Your posts are very articulate, but they seem to imagine a Disney corporation that thinks and acts and loves the parks like a fan, that puts some value on its promises, and that is somehow removed from not only its own pattern of past actions but also larger economic and social forces. Closing Muppets years early to save operational costs is completely in line with Disney’s past practices. Let me ask you - how long do you feel Muppets NEEDS to be closed to replace the show? What date SHOULD it reopen? I’d point out that the Bugs to Zootopia conversion seems like it will take a little over a year, so should we expect a Muppets replacement by late 2026 or very early 2027?

If Monster Inc. Land opens in a phased approach and the theater show indeed opens first, then I'd give them the benefit of the doubt that they needed the time. Maybe they want to offer something new in 2026, since the cupboard is empty (besides Mando/Grogu on MFSR and potentially RnR Muppets).

I think it's more likely that Muppets courtyard will be a construction zone and they needed to start on it. Closing Mama Melrose a month early might be a sign that they will be full speed ahead.

I guess we'll see.

 

[mattpeto]

I’m home. Not an omni but track based. Specifics are sparse but imagine a static load/unload with one or more (or even a group of 4) RVs moving around the attraction, each with 2 rows per vehicle. Separate ADA load. And a betting man might also say 14 distinct show scenes.

Any good comparisons to what we have now?